Monday, July 27, 2015

The Miracle of the Commons

It is hot in Arizona right now. Every day, the temperature creeps up from its balmy low in the mid-eighties, as the sun pours its terrible heat down upon us, and punishes everything that still has the audacity to live here. Before we know it, it's above 100 and stays that way until the sun gets tired of beating our poor, dumb asses, and takes the night off. There is no escaping it. I walked Mrs. Done by Forty from our car to her building on campus this weekend, when our car thermometer showed a temp of 115. Delirious, I pondered our situation as we took shelter in the shade for a bit.

I wondered aloud how hard it must be for the homeless to get a little break from this heat, "Where do they go?"

"Wherever they can," Mrs. Done by Forty said.

"I'd hang out here, under this covered walkway," I said. It felt twenty degrees cooler in the shade.

My guess is that public spaces are some of the only spots the homeless can go to get out of the heat: the library, under a tree or pavilion in a park, or even the state university campus.

And that's the beauty of public spaces: they're here for anyone and everyone. You don't need to show ID or pay any money to use most public assets; which is kind of incredible, if you think about it. The land and building and amenities are worth millions, and yet they're free to use.

Suffering in the heat, you can walk into an air conditioned library and drink as much cool, clean water as you'd like from the fountain. While you're there, feel free to choose from the thousands of books or magazines on every subject imaginable, and enjoy it in the embrace of a comfy leather chair. Want to browse the internet and learn about any topic known to man? No problem: just pull up next to one of the dozens of computers. And, please, grab a Blu-ray on the way out, if that's your sort of thing.

Libraries are just the beginning, of course. Within walking distance of our house, we have world-class parks with baseball and soccer fields, a frisbee golf course, and a senior center with a weight room and ten pristine billiard tables that you don't even have to be old to use. Need a ride there? Just jump on the neighborhood trolley that comes by every fifteen minutes. All free.

This sort of free-to-the-public set up doesn't make a whole lot of sense in a capitalist economy. When I think about the money I earn, I'm usually thinking of how I can spend it on myself, or maybe my family if I'm in a good mood. Generally, my personal funds are going to be used for acquiring more personal, private property and experiences.

Why would I want to pay taxes, just to give free rides and air conditioning and internet service to some homeless guy I've never met, or some weirdo who lives across town?

Well, because I can use that stuff, too. We all can. I get the same access as anyone else.

Second, I actually get better options of books and movies and media via the library than I'd get by purchasing those things myself. The people running those organizations are better at selecting that stuff than I am. Their expertise gives me more and better things to choose from than I'd pick on my own.

And it's way, way more efficient to pool our money via taxes than it would be for me to build a private library. That single, twenty dollar DVD can be shared with a practically unlimited number of citizens, forever. When I buy it for myself, it is only used by me, probably once, and then sits on my shelf unused, forever.

I always hear about how inefficient government is. And yet all around me, I see these examples of public assets which are thousands of times more efficient than their private counterparts. Just by the miracle of sharing, a single book in a library, or basketball hoop in a park, or seat on a bus, completely destroys the efficiency of its privately-owned counterpart.

Can you imagine the huge collective cost if everyone bought their own computers and books and other media, just to build a personal library? Or if we all drove our own personal vehicles everywhere instead of using the cheaper and more environmentally-friendly public transportation?

I'm certainly a culprit myself. I haven't taken the trolley once since I've lived here, even though it goes directly to the library, and has a stop within a quarter mile of my house.

Which is fine, I suppose. If you have the money to drive your own car, or want to collect fancy books, or want to build a home gym complete with the Europlate Vibration Exercise Machine, who cares? Convenience is a perfectly acceptable thing to buy, if you can afford it.

If you're achieving your financial goals and have money left over, by all means, go buy what you want.

It's going to sound judgmental, but when you aren't addressing even your basic financial goals, shouldn't you ditch the car (and the car loan)? Especially when you've got a fancy public transportation system in your neighborhood?

We've set up this web of buses and light rail that can take us almost anywhere we want to go, subsidized it, air conditioned it, and made it accessible from just about anywhere in a few minutes, if you have a bike.

Anyone can use the system, of course. But for those of us looking to squeeze a bit more out of our paychecks so we can get out of debt, or finally start saving, or maybe even invest for the first time, shouldn't our public resources be the very first place we look?

The commons was made for us. For our enjoyment, our convenience, for our safety. Let's use these public resources to improve the public's finances, too.

43 comments:

Hear, hear. Leaving aside the question of whether homeless people are really allowed to use the commons everywhere, instead of being harassed and hauled off by the police, it's all so true that these wonderful public resources exist, and yet most people don't take advantage of them. We live in a small town where the "bus system" is a joke. BUT, we have an incredible network of paved trails that even get plowed in the winter. Yet we see hardly anyone use them for commuting purposes. Lots of people use them for fun, but then they hop in the car to run errands. Such a shame, because the trails are gorgeous to boot! We feel so privileged to be able to bike to do our errands, and wish more people would join us!

I hear you on the access not being as open as I said in the post. I know the homeless get chased out of these places, too, just so us yuppies can enjoy the library without having to see the less fortunate.

But I love your point about just having trails to use. Like you said, riding for fun is fantastic, but imagine if we really took Mr. Money Mustache's advice and biked as a main mode of transportation. Just ditching the car payment, insurance, gas, and maintenance alone would allow us to save and invest thousands a year.

Actually, a lot of cities have horrible public transit infrastructure which I think is truly a tragedy of the uncommons. Improving bus, bike, and walking infrastructure yields tremendous positive externalities, an improved dispersion of wealth, and a better environment (not even talking about greenhouse gases).

I live in a low income area that has a bus route, but unless you work downtown, the bus route is hopelessly long. My husband actually bikes to school rather than try to deal with the bus (which he could ride for free due to his student pass). The libraries and parks are very well loved around here though, which I think is nice because there are some shady neighborhoods that I feel much safer exercising in knowing that I will see many passersby due to the proximity of public resources.

Public transportation can definitely be a pain, too. Sorry to hear it's not great where you are.

I remember back when I lived in Pittsburgh, I'd take the trolley from Bethel Park into downtown, walk to the bus station, and take the bus in to Wilkinsburg. It took over an hour each way, and at first I hated it. Over time, I grew to really enjoy it because that time on the bus was at least mine to spend as I wished. I could read, study, chat with passengers, or just nap.

No such options when driving a personal vehicle. Since you have to devote your attention to the road, it really is time lost in most cases. Time on public transit, I think, is almost meditative in a way: some of the best hours of the day are when you get a little time to yourself.

Holy crap that is hot!!! Anything above 85 and I start to melt…of course I don't have AC either and work from home, so those high temp days (very few) make me cranky, but funny…the first place I go is the library. LA has horrible public transportation because of it's size, but I notice on the local level they do try to provide services. At least in my area it's like that. And I notice more and more "sharrows" going on the streets.

I don't take advantage of public transportation right now, but I definitely enjoy using public libraries and parks (and having the roads/sidewalks maintained).

When I was younger, I did not have a car in Los Angeles. I made sure I lived close enough to work. It's possible but you definitely need a lot of time and friends willing to give you a lift! Nowadays at least you can always call uber or lyft.

Yeah, cities out west really make it hard to use public transportation compared to cities in the Northeast. Got to love that sprawl.

Still, even out here, people are focusing more on staying within a smaller locale, walkability, stuff like that. It's probably asking too much for Angelinos to get rid of their cars, but even utilizing public transportation/rideshares/bikes more would have a big financial impact.

Oh the A/C at the library...that was where my mom told me to go during the summer time to beat the heat. There was only one A/C unit in our house and it was going when it was really HOT and only so that we could sleep. I live in NYC so the public transportation is pretty extensive...and it's definitely being used. There are so many public resources here in NYC...and they are wonderful resources. It's definitely one of the benefits of living here.

NYC is like our nation's shining beacon of the stuff I'm talking about. Incredible public assets that are so good that citizens actually prefer it to private alternatives.

Very glad you chimed in, Andrew. I love getting a New Yorker's perspective.

It was the same way in our house with the AC growing up: only on if we couldn't get to sleep. I remember turning it on once when my mom was still at work, and she flipped the eff out when she came home and saw I had it set to 75. Oh, man...

I think for the most part government is typically less efficient than private counterparts. If the library didn't exist, wouldn't a for-profit pop up in it's place? Even with the library there are services like Netflix that have been hugely successful. And do I even need to mention the library?

With that being said, I do think libraries, roads, and other 'public areas' do serve their purpose.

Netflix is an interesting example, and certainly is a good deal. But I do pay less in taxes that go to the library for an entire year than I do to Netflix for a single month.

The closer competitor to the public library might actually be Amazon.

Can private car ownership really compete with the efficiency of public transportation? It's certainly way more convenient, but it's preposterously wasteful, too.

Public spaces, in my opinion, are so much more attractive than their private counterparts. I have a beautiful park right near our house. We have state and national parks nearby.

What private enterprise can come close to that? Even if someone has some beautiful property that rivals or bests our public park, private ownership just makes it some dude's land. He and his family are really the only ones who enjoy it.

Where's the efficiency in that? Instead of an unlimited number of people benefiting, we get, I don't know, a dozen?

At least on an efficiency basis, I don't think it's much of a competition.

While I agree that the government is generally less efficient, certain public resources probably should be in the domain of government. Would a for-profit library pop up? I'm not sure...since it won't be profitable. And it most definitely won't serve all neighborhoods like low income ones. Same with parks...probably no profit incentive for private companies to provide that benefit.

An excellent point, Andrew. The public is often served in areas that no private enterprise would dare take on, as there's no profit in providing roads that anyone can use (regardless of whether they paid for their creation), no profit in providing a public park, library, fire safety, etc.

That last one might be an interesting case study, as I believe fire departments used to be private and competitive...

Some public services are definitely under utilized. We definitely try to use library as much as possible instead of buying new books. There are also a lot of outdoor public pools sitting idle in the summer here in my area which is a big surprise.

I think public resources are amazing. Public transportation is Kentucky is not the greatest so I zero experience with that. However, the libraries here are awesome. I can reserve books online and they transport them to whichever branch I want to pick them up at! I pass 2 branches on my 20 minute drive home. Can you imagine? Of course, I pay $5 - $10 in annual fees per year when I forget to return something but that is a small price to pay!

I love the idealist in you. While I agree that open spaces are critical to strong communities, there is a balance. Here in SLC, we have a strong homeless services network and therefore attract a lot of homeless from surrounding states during the warmer months. The SLC Library is a gorgeous building in the heart of the city and cost $92M in tax payer dollars. However, its turned into a homeless haven and a suicide destination. They've had to hire full-time social workers to manage the less stable individuals and the idiots (IMHO) who run the place even suggested using taxpayer dollars to stay open 24/7 so that the homeless didn't have to go to the homeless shelter at night. Needless to say, I don't go to the SLC library anymore and I would never feel safe letting my kids wander around.

Capitalism (or privately run amenities) can achieve many of the same goals. I go to a private gym where I pay $30 per month to have access to amazing instructors, a million machines, an indoor track, a world class pool, etc. There are many, many examples of private companies offering sharable resources so that we don't have to invest in a private library (such as Netflix - who buys DVDs anymore?).

There seems to be a need for a balance of the two and, personally, if you're going to tax my labor earnings to create a public space, there should be some monitoring of abuse so that the public feels safe and comfortable accessing the resource. I have the same argument about too many ATVs destroying public trails areas.

Rant aside...I just completely agree with you on using the resources around us to keep the budget in check. When I first left employment to start a business, we were flat broke and all of our date nights were at local parks. We had a blast finding new spots to hang out for free. My jaw dropped the last time I went to a movie theater and forked out $14 per ticket.

Yeah, I suppose I am an idealist...which is weird, as I'm such a pragmatist when it comes to the supposed subject of this blog (money).

The gym deal is a good example of how private companies can do the same sort of thing. But I'll still put our city gym ($8 a month for residents, which includes unlimited yoga, crossfit, boxing, & MMA classes) against just about anything the private sphere.

But as you note, the benefits of sharing resources aren't unique to government...I just think it's more common there. And there are things the government will provide that few or no private enterprises would have the ability to make a profit on.

I know taxes always make for a tricky subject, but when it comes to our local taxes I think they're a preposterous value. I get way more out of those dollars than I possibly could spending them with a corporation or small business.

Agreed on the parks, too! Movies in the park are exactly the sort of thing I'm so happy to see in our communities. Free movies outside with your neighbors...not even the drive-in of old can beat that sort of nostalgia.

Secondary side note after reading some of the excellent comments - if you own property, you are paying more than library fees for the public resources in your community. My latest property tax bill has us paying $2K for public schools, $350 for libraries, $120 for parks and recreation, etc. Even if you're renting, your landlord is building those costs into the rent total. Even more reason to make use of the benefits!

Obviously the taxes are very different from place to place. But I've written about ours, and I just can't see how we'd get better value elsewhere:

http://www.donebyforty.com/2013/09/where-my-property-taxes-go.html

Less than $20 for police, fire, library, and parks a year, combined (when applying the credit the state provided). $4 for libraries in other cities.

The really big item is $304 for public schools, which is a much better example of the commons than I was able to come up with for the post. I mean, I don't have any kids, but the schools are there for us if and when we decide to make a little person and educate him, no matter how much or how little money I make, the color of my skin, my religious beliefs, or whatever.

Depending on the type of private enterprise, I might not be able to go myself, or send my kids.

I live in Chicago so public transportation is more of the norm if you live in the city and why not, the city has enough one way's with parked cars on each side to not want to own a car and park there.

One of my accidental moves towards the library has been great, I honestly can't remember the last time I bought a book, to me now it's almost common sense. I mean I'm paying for it in property taxes, why would I not use the library?

I'm right there with you on the library, Steven. I never buy books anymore,and kind of hate the ones I have on the shelf. It's just a reminder of a previous self, who wanted to impress single ladies by proving that I wasn't illiterate.

I really need to get out to Chicago one of these days. Maybe you can help us sort out bad neighborhoods for rentals?

Thanks for offering to help! We are trying to close on a duplex this summer, but by the fall we may be able to seriously start looking at a rental in Chicago. Seems like most of the turnkey opportunities we're seeing are in the southern part of the city.

I think many people literally forget that these free services actually exist! Most people tend to do what others are doing, and if all your buddies buy books, cars etc, then you can be blinded to these other wonderful services, just because using them might seem a little 'weird' in your circles.

I'm absolutely guilty of not using the library, and its right opposite my supermarket! I poked my head in one day and was surprised how great it was, but I just love downloading books on my kindle too much...

Hey Jason. I agree with your point about people forgetting: it's likely not a conscious choice so much as forgetting that there are community resources out there.

On the kindle point, it's possible that your library actually has a ton of downloadable Kindle/e-pub books. Ours does (as do all the libraries in surrounding cities). Mrs. Done by Forty prefers to read that way, and checks them out without ever leaving the house. :)

Might be worth checking in to.

Pro tip: if you disconnect the wifi on your kindle, you can keep the e-book past the due date without fees, and without 'depriving' another library user of the book. :)

It's funny how everyone complains about all of the taxes that we pay, yet fails to take advantage of the many public benefits that are available. My wife and I try to use public transportation when possible and utilize all of the local parks and trails as much as we can.

I completely agree, Dane. The irony is that those who pay the most in taxes are probably the least likely to utilize the public resources they fund.

Which is fine, I guess: the people I think really ought to use the public resources are those who would most benefit from doing so. People struggling to make a car payment need to really consider alternate modes of transportation, like bike/bus. People pickled in debt should be thinking of getting their entertainment from the library, parks, free events put on by the city/community, etc.

If a rich guy wants to complain about his taxes, that's fine by me. He just needs to keep earning the big bucks and funding the commons while he's doing it.

The issue with taking public transportation is that you have to live in a city with a good system -- and preferably be healthy. I have health problems, and it could take a lot out of me to walk a few blocks, especially if I were stressed about catching a specific bus. And that was in Seattle, which has an amazing transit system.

Down here in Phoenix, the closest bus stop is about half a mile away, which is a no-go for my in-laws. I wouldn't do great with it either (depending how long I was expecting to be out).

It's actually been abnormally cool here, only like 88-90 today (usually well over 100). That has been nice. It's a great post, but I do wish we had more of these types of services in my community. I live in a town of 7,000 and options are somewhat limited here.

Thanks for the kind words, Kayla. I think it's a very different story in small communities. My assumption is that there are other unique benefits of a small community though (maybe more likely to get interaction/help from neighbors?) that I simply wouldn't get in the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe/Glendale megacity.

I do get the point of your article but one reason people don't use the public library in my community is because of the homeless who hang out there. To just enter the library, one has to maneuver through the shopping carts and sleeping bags belonging to the homeless and pass by some using the library wall as their urinal. Once inside, if you find a place to sit and read a magazine or newspaper, you are assailed with the smell from a homeless person sleeping in a chair next to you. I don't think many parents would prefer to expose their children to that, so kids don't get to the library much either. I suppose I should feel guilty about this attitude, or use it as a teaching moment for our kids to learn how the homeless have to live, but I'm sorry, I'm just not that enlightened. No intention here to dismiss the main point of your article but it does seem like the ones who do pay for these things through taxes are the ones who utilize them the least.

I can definitely see what you're saying, Kathy. Emily Capito made a similar comment, and the library in one of our neighboring cities (Tempe) has a lot more homeless people than my local library, for whatever reason.

For whatever reason, it doesn't really bother me...but then they're not leaving shopping carts out front or urinating outside. I mean, there's a nice bathroom right inside so I don't know why anyone would pee on a wall, but hey, whatever.

I do think that richer you are, the less likely you are to use the public resources. The flip side is that the public commons are more utilized for those who would really benefit, and that's kind of the point. For those who don't have access to the internet or books, air conditioning, clean water, or maybe even their own bathroom...I'm glad the library's there for them, in particular.

As the Millennials are showing us, owning a car is horse & buggy thinking. The combination of transit, carsharing, taxis, conventional rental car, walking, and cycling is an excellent substitute for buying a costly, rapidly depreciating and expensive to run machine. For more and more of us, car ownership makes no sense!

An excellent point, Kurt. Making assets more 'public' doesn't have to fall to the government. As other posters have noted, the miracle of sharing can fall within the private sphere and make a profit, too (Uber, the plain old taxi, Netflix, etc.)

I work from home so I get to see how few of our cars get used on the regular. Would be neat to have a hyper local car sharing program, where all us neighbors use a single vehicle...

Truth. I wish I had a job (or Pittsburgh had a better transportation system) that allowed me to use public transport and cut out one of our cars. We've got use of our public library down pat, though for what that's worth!

The library's the better choice, I think: it really might be the best modern innovation.

I know people are high on Netflix right now, but the library's been a groundbreaking, sharing innovation for thousands of years. Netflix has been around for about as long as Justin Beiber, and only addresses the entertainment media of DVDs and streaming tv. I've still yet to see anything in the private sphere that rivals the services re: books, journals, newspapers, and films/television that you can get for free in nearly every community in our nation.

Disclaimer: This blog is written for entertainment purposes only: not to give advice. I'm just some dude on the internet, and one without a whole lot of credentials. It's a good idea to consult with professional before making investment, tax, or financial decisions.